What do free rape stories, rape pictures, rape videos, and rape movies have in common with actual rapes? After all, if you've never raped anyone,
you're not a rapist! A rape fantasy is just harmless, right?

Do rape stories and rape pics shape learned behaviors?

pre·dis·pose

1. a. To make (someone) inclined to something in advance. b. To make
susceptible or liable.

You might be startled to discover that it's very easy to become inclined to
rape, in advance of an actual rape. After all, 70% of all sexual assaults
are planned. But of course, there's a big difference, right? You're
not scheming to rape anyone for real. What harm can that do? You're not hurting anyone else!
Yet, by playing the scene out in
your mind, are you hurting yourself? I suppose if you only imagine it happening, once or twice,
that's not a bad thing, is it? It's not like you're conditioning yourself to
think and respond that way. Or, are you learning to rape? One
of the ways our minds learn is by rote (repetition). How many times do we need to repeat something, before
we've learned and memorized it? What's that magic number for you? Here's a
scary thought -- what if you're a quick learner?!

Rape can easily become a preconditioned response. One day in the real world, you find yourself in a
situation that is similar to what you've imagined, and the
pieces of the rape fantasy fall into place, and your mind simply reacts and
responds in a
way it's accustomed to seeing the scene played out. It becomes very easy to
actually act out what you've
already envisioned and role-played hundreds of times.

Rape videos and pornography

por·nog·ra·phy

1. Pictures, writing, or other material that is sexually explicit and sometimes equates sex with
power and violence.

Pornography is all about sexual gratification at someone else's expense.
Rape, however, is never about sexual desire, but is a violent act of
power and control over
the victim. Violence does not always have to be physical. There are
many ways to coerce or intimidate or threaten a victim that do not involve
physical force. No matter how control is gained, nonconsensual sex is
rape, whether it's within an intimate partnership or not.

Rape videos and pornography are similar in how they both demean and degrade a
person, stripping them of the respect and consideration that person deserves,
and reducing them to an object. Every time rape movies are viewed, those
individuals are being victimized and exploited all over again.

When you consider how many girls, boys, women, and men, are sexually abused
and sexually assaulted, rape videos and rape movies certainly don't help put a
stop to what those victims went through, and have to live with, for the rest of
their lives. Perhaps you even know what it's like to be a sexual
abuse victim.

Sexism in rape stories and rape movies

Some people believe they need to be in control. Some also believe that
others are put on this earth to provide for their needs, whether it be cooking,
cleaning, or sex. There are even a fair number
of people who believe that sex solely revolves around their own (or their
partner's) needs. But what if each person was seen as an individual, possessing
their own unique sexual needs and desires and feelings? I realize
that may be a very extreme view to some, but I'm inclined to believe that it's a lot harder to rape a
someone if you
respect who they are as a person. Yet, rape stories and rape fantasies
do the exact opposite, disregarding a person's rights and feelings. They
serve to demean individuals, to reduce them to objects, to strip away their
choice to say "No." Even
in our culture, we don't consider rape victims as people. "She got
what she deserved." "She was asking for it." What
person deserves to be abused, to be violated,
to have things done to them against their will, to be traumatized and affected by
that one act, for the rest of their life?